Building record MAB23916 - THE MANNIE

Fountain, a former wellhead, built in 1710 by William Lindsay, originally sited at the east end of Castle Street.

Fountain, a former wellhead, built in 1710 by William Lindsay, originally sited at the east end of Castle Street. It was moved to The Green in 1852 (NJ90NW1234) and remained there until 1974 when it was moved to its current position back in Castle Street. It no longer functions as a wellhead. The Mannie is one of the few examples of leaden sculpture in the city. In 1706 work began on laying lead water pipes from Carden's Well to a new fountain in the Castlegate, to bring new supplies of drinking water to the growing population. In 1708 the Town Council contracted William Lindsay, goldsmith, to make a brass statue for the fountain. It was to be 'a statue of three foot and a half high.for the water to play and issue from the said statue, and the four antick faces on the corners.'. The bottom part of the structure still has the four 'antick' faces. By 1710 Lindsay had not completed his work and the Council ordered a gilded wood statute to adorn the fountain before the current sculpture was installed. The first location of the Mannie was where the Mercat Cross sits today. One of the features of the history of this structure has been its peregrinations. In 1852 the Mannie was moved to the area of Aberdeen known as the Green. It was not until the early 1970s that the Mannie was moved back to the Castlegate, but not to its original location but to a new venue across the road from the Tolbooth. In fact when it was moved back to the Castlegate it and the Mercat Cross had swapped positions. To this day many people refer to it as the Mannie in the Green. It is on a square plan with an ogee cap, built of coursed sandstone. Carved stone Green-man type heads form spouts at each corner of the cap. There is a small carved lion's head spout and wrought iron lamp bracket to the east face.

Period Notes
Listed 08/02/1989.

ABERDEEN CITY LIBRARIES, , ABERDEEN WELLS (Bibliographic reference). SAB6447.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 31/05/1980 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL, 2016, ABERDEEN'S SCULPTURE TRAIL (Bibliographic reference). SAB8372.

Record last edited

Dec 14 2022 2:21PM